How Nanoparticles Are Synthesized

By Author: Lois Jones
Total Articles: 6
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Nanoparticles are particles which are very tiny, between 1 and 100 nanometers in diameter, and they are used in a variety of fields from biomedical studies to optics and even electronics.Nanoparticles are important because they exhibit special properties as their molecules reach the nano scale and they often have important optical qualities which make them of great interest to both science and the military. Finally, nanoparticles are synthesized through a variety of processes, many of which remain closely guarded trade secrets by the companies that manufacture them, but that generally resemble one of three basic processes: attrition, pyrolysis, or colloid synthesis.

Attrition

Attrition is the process in which particles are reduced in size through the use of a high-energy ball mill which creates nano particles of low purity but which is able to create large quantities of particles more quickly than some other processes. Due to the high volume of potential synthesis, high-energy ball milling is typically the synthesis method of choice for industrial applications or where high purity samples ...
... are not required.

Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis is essentially the process of evaporating a material inside of a vacuum where the vapors then condense inside the vacuum to form the nano particles. There are many ways of accomplishing pyrolisys such as physical vapor deposition with a plasma, combustion, or laser ablation. Pyrolysis, like attrition, is often used at the industrial scale because it can produce large quantities of nanoparticles although the pyrolysis process typically yields slightly more pure particles than does attrition.

Colloid Synthesis

Colloid synthesis involves dissolving a soluble salt of the precursor into a supersaturated liquid and then reducing it, thus producing crystalline nanoparticles to form once nucleation occurs. Colloid synthesis is most often used for research applications and when the nanoparticles being studied need to exist in solution or suspension. Because of its ease of use and because the size dispersion of the particles is most controllable in colloid synthesis, it is generally regarded as the most versatile nanopartical synthesis process.

Regardless of the application, nanoparticles remain an important and exciting are of research across many scientific disciplines and synthesizing and producing them on a large scale requires skill and extremely specialized equipment.

Lois Jones is a freelance writer interested in Nano materials, Malvern, Pa.-based manufacturer of advanced materials including nanopowders that are used in many industries for a variety of Nanotechnology Application. If you’d like to learn more about Nanotechnology Information,visit their website at NanoMaterialsCompany.com.